An Introduction to European Art

AN INTRODUCTION TO EUROPEAN ART HISTORY:

If you have always wanted to find out more about the major époques of European art and to identify major styles of architecture, sculpture and painting, this paper is for you.

This eight-week course is aimed at participants with little or no previous knowledge. From the ancient Greeks to the post-modern era, we use exemplary artwork to analyse major trends in Western art. The art objects will be analysed and discussed within the context of important historical and social developments. Participants learn to identify buildings and visual art from e.g. the Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Georgian, Classicist and Modernist styles on the basis of their typical features.

What motivated the builders of cathedrals, town halls and monuments in the Middle Ages to spend up to 75% of their cities’ GDP on art? What ideas about community, spirituality and beauty become manifest in the creative activities of European art movements and individual artists? Join us for an exciting journey to Athens, Rome, London, Dresden, and Chartres to find out. Join us to explore the great treasures of European art.

COURSE OUTLINE:

•Week 1: Introduction; Ancient Greek art
•Week 2: Ancient Greek art continued; Excursion: Golden Ratio
•Week 3: Roman Art; Late Antiquity; Excursion: Art and Politics
•Week 4: Middle Ages; Romanesque and related styles
•Week 5: Middle Ages; early, high, late Gothic; Excursion: Art and Religion
•Week 6: Renaissance; Baroque; Rococo
•Week 7: Classicism; Romanticism; Historicism; Excursion: Art and Economics
•Week 8: Modern and postmodern art

The overall structure of the class is chronological. The wider legacy and reception of each époque will be analysed in connection with the initial appearance of structural elements (e.g. up-take of ancient Greek column orders in Classicist and Colonial contexts). The aim is to appreciate the art from both a historical and a contemporary perspective.

COURSE LECTURER:

This course will be taught by Dr Norman Franke. Norman is a Hamilton based poet, scholar, artist and film maker (MA, Hamburg University; Ph.D. Humboldt University, Berlin). He has published widely about 18th century literature, German-speaking exile literature (Albert Einstein, Ernst H. Kantorowicz, Else Lasker-Schüler, Karl Wolfskehl) eco-poetics and at the intersection of religion and poetry. Norman’s poetry has been broadcast on radio and published in anthologies in Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. He was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Waikato for 22 years before his department was disestablished. He is currently a Conjoint Senior Lecturer & Research Fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

COURSE DATES AND TIMES:

“An Introduction to European Art History” meets on Tuesdays from 7:00-9:00pm. Our first class begins on Tuesday 20 October 2020 and runs for 8 consecutive weeks, ending on Tuesday 8 December 2020.

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT INFORMATION:

Cost per person per Term (8 classes):

Waged: $104 (includes $4 online registration fee)
Unwaged (unemployed, students, seniors): $84 (includes $4 online registration fee)

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